Tour Operators

[SiBreeze]

My head is spinning trying to pick a tour and tour operator for my upcoming Baltics cruise in St. Petersburg. There was one that interested me from DenRus. I emailed them a couple of days ago and have not heard back from them. That does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling toward that co. I also emailed Alla and heard back immediately, although their tour was not quite the same. Can anyone give some input to these 2 companies and it is safe to go with them rather than the ships excursions? Please don't tell me to go to my roll call. I did that and it is the deadest roll call I have ever seen and nothing worth while has been mentioned. :rolleyes:

[ginbuck]

We used Denrus 4 years ago when we did the Baltic cruise with Celebrity. I booked it all online from their website. We picked the two day Value Tour and had about 20-some people in the group. You don't know until you get to St. Petersburg how many will be in the group. Our guide was an art history university professor and was very knowledgeable, very good with English, and quite outspoken about useless Russian men. I remember reading about her on cruise boards and she had offended some men on an earlier cruise. I didn't care!

 

The two days were packed with touring and the only thing that we did not see that others might on their tours was Catherine's palace. Not an issue since we were "palaced out" and on sensory overload. Two nice lunches with vodka were included--one at the Summer Palace and one in a nice restaurant.

 

Enjoy your trip.

[bobalink]

My head is spinning trying to pick a tour and tour operator for my upcoming Baltics cruise in St. Petersburg. There was one that interested me from DenRus. I emailed them a couple of days ago and have not heard back from them. That does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling toward that co. I also emailed Alla and heard back immediately, although their tour was not quite the same. Can anyone give some input to these 2 companies and it is safe to go with them rather than the ships excursions? Please don't tell me to go to my roll call. I did that and it is the deadest roll call I have ever seen and nothing worth while has been mentioned. :rolleyes:

 

I just wanted to mention that sometimes email from tour agencies end up in my "Junk Mail". Before you give up on DenRus, check your junk mail folder.

 

We did the Baltic in 2009 and the cruise and ports were fabulous. We did the Princess excursions to St. Petersburg and if I had it to do over I would NOT do that again.

 

It was like a huge cattle call, and we were rushed through the Hermitage and the other palaces. Wearing little head phones all huddled together, with the tour guide's constant, "we are going left, we are turning left. Please watch your purses and belongings." So annoying. Our guide was very sweet and knowledgeable, but we still felt like a herd.

 

Another suggestion, you may want to check the Ports section. There is lots of information on St. Petersburg and the tour companies that CC members recommend.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=192

 

Have a wonderful time in the Baltic. It is amazing!

[Roses2]

We used Alla a couple of years ago and her service was superb. We booked a private 2-day tour for just the two of us. It was quite costly but we went exactly where we wanted when we wanted. We are certain Alla can provide just the tour you would like.

 

Since virtually all of the other ports on the Baltic cruise are quite easy to do on your own, you can blow a wad on St. Pertersburg.

 

It is a port stop where you want to avoid the "cattle call" if at all possible.

 

P&J

[jajohnson]

My head is spinning trying to pick a tour and tour operator for my upcoming Baltics cruise in St. Petersburg. There was one that interested me from DenRus. I emailed them a couple of days ago and have not heard back from them. That does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling toward that co. I also emailed Alla and heard back immediately, although their tour was not quite the same. Can anyone give some input to these 2 companies and it is safe to go with them rather than the ships excursions? Please don't tell me to go to my roll call. I did that and it is the deadest roll call I have ever seen and nothing worth while has been mentioned. :rolleyes:

 

We used Red October and were very satisfied. The tour we took only had 10 people and we went to a Russian apartment for a dinner. Also took the hydrofoil. Great guide, not hurried, seemed to have special ways to get around crowds.

 

In reviewing with other groups on board we did not hear anyone who complained about their private tour, and there were several different companies.

[SiBreeze]

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. I went to the Red October site and they do not put you with a group. You must form your own. I have also been keeping an eye on my junk folder for responses.

 

I am traveling alone so it is a bit harder for me. A private tour would be out of the question. The best one, so you are sure of the price. seems to be the Grand Tour from Alla. $300 whether you are 1 or 20.

 

Do all these tours give you time to shop at the outdoor market across from the Church of the Spilled Blood?

 

If you charge these tours on a MC will the price still be $300?? Wondering about the currency conversion. :confused:

[caribill]

Do all these tours give you time to shop at the outdoor market across from the Church of the Spilled Blood?

 

If you charge these tours on a MC will the price still be $300?? Wondering about the currency conversion. :confused:

 

We toured with Denrus two years ago and were 100% satisfied. Saw and did everything that their web site said we would.

 

Our tour did have some time at the outdoor market you ask about.

 

With Denrus the charge is made about a month before the cruise and is processed in the USA in US $, no currency conversion involved.

 

By the way, when you disembark the ship for your tour, you go through a Russian immigration booth. You can use any booth you want and ignore any signs that say "Princess tours only" as the immigration agents do not care what tour you are on.

[JADAMS57]

We were in St. Petersburg for two days two years a go on the Eurodam. We used SPB tours. We saw everything and and had a great time. I have since recommended them to friends and they enjoyed the tour. You might want to investigate them. http://www.spb-tours .com

 

Jack Adams

[weaselwatchr]

We used Den Rus last June while in St. Petersburgh, we did the private tour. Our guide was a University professor who did this for extra $$. The emails were a bit slow from Den Rus and I did start to wonder, however everything was resolved within 30 days of our orginal inquirey We were asked if we asked if we wanted to design our on tour or go with their regular 2 day tour? We did a little of both, we did everything on their 2 day list plus several additional things that we decided on while passing or visiting another attraction. It was a very wonderful experience and would recommend them highly. Yes, the private tour was pricey ($600/person) however we saw everything in St. Petersburgh that we wanted to in the 2 day time frame. We waited no more than 5 minutes in any line and if we wanted to purchase something our tour guide would go and negotiate the best price as a local, not as a tourist. Hope that you have a fantastic trip, St. Petersburgh is a beautiful city. .

[PrincessNancy]

We were in St. Petersburg for two days two years a go on the Eurodam. We used SPB tours. We saw everything and and had a great time. I have since recommended them to friends and they enjoyed the tour. You might want to investigate them. http://www.spb-tours .com

 

Jack Adams

 

We used SPB as well in 2009 on the Emerald Princess--it was a fabulous tour. A small tour group is definitely the way to go. Contact Viktoria at the website above--she was extremely responsive. BTW: They also do tours in Berlin. SPB has private and pre-set tours...I'm sure they'll be able to help you. You are going to have a fabulous time!